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https://www.blackenterprise.com/baltimore-artist-harriet-tubman/
Baltimore-bred artist Alvin Pettit won a competition to have his version of a Harriet Tubman statue placed on the northeast apron outside Philadelphia’s City Hall.
The statue is expected to be finished by 2025, city officials said, according to CBS News. The art project has a budget of $500,000 coming from Philadelphia’s operating budget. The money will cover payment for Pettit, site work and modeling, engineering and materials, and fabrication costs.
The open call for the contest, announced in August 2022, brought in nearly 3,000 total submissions and came about after a controversy, according to another report by CBS News.
Black artists and activists protested when the city initially contacted a white sculptor to build the statue without a competition. The white artist, Wesley Wofford, had previously displayed a traveling sculpture of Tubman at Philadelphia’s City Hall in 2017. Textile artist Dee Jones said in a 2022 community meeting that it was “hurtful” that the city had not given other artists the opportunity to have their work considered for the public art project, CBS News reported.
Wofford dropped out of the running, and Pettit’s nearly 14-foot bronze statue, titled A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter, won over four other semifinalists. A small model of the statue appeared at a news conference on Oct. 30, showing Tubman with a rifle on her back, a Confederate flag under her feet, and her hands in prayer, CBS News reported.
Pettit said about the work, “She [Tubman] is shown in majestic prayer. Perhaps she is calling upon her faith or contemplating a battle.” The artist, now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, continued: “This woman was a soldier, a scout, a Union spy, a military strategist, and a war hero. Therefore, I captured a moment in time that shows her as a conqueror.”
Pettit won the competition based on decisions by city officials and Philadelphia’s African American Statue Advisory Committee, which includes some of Tubman’s family members.
One of the most fun aspects of Loki, that they frankly have not done enough of, is when the writers use time travel aspects to explain away historical mysteries. In season one, we learned Tom Hiddleston’s Loki was actually the infamous D.B. Cooper, who robbed an airplane in the ’70s, popped out with a parachute, and vanished for all time. Now, in the second season’s penultimate episode, “Science/Fiction,” the show solved yet another historical mystery, MCU style. One involving the most infamous (and mythologized) prison in American history—Alcatraz.
At the end of episode four of this season, the Temporal Loom exploded, and we learned the different TVA employees who were in the control room, as well as Sylvie, were sent back to their lives before the TVA took them and wiped their memories. Mobius was a single dad named Don who sold jet skis (of course). O.B. was a scientist and an aspiring sci-fi author. Hunter B-15 was a doctor. Sylvie just went back to work at McDonald’s in 1982. But the most interesting true identity of a TVA employee had to be Casey. Turns out, the mild-mannered “guy at the desk” was once a notorious criminal, Alcatraz escaped convict Frank Morris.
When Loki starts time slipping again, Casey appears in 1962, escaping from Alcatraz. We even see the crude dummies the inmates made to appear as if they were sleeping during bedcheck. It’s something that really happened. Casey even says “If they catch us, they’re going to gut us like a fish!” That was a fun callback to season one, when Loki threatened to do the same to him but he had no idea what a fish even was. As they’re trying to escape, a time-slipping Loki appears on the shores of Alcatraz island in San Francisco. He finds Casey, now called Frank, who doesn’t recognize him, along with two other men getting ready to escape in a makeshift raft.
In reality, the two other men were Clarence and John Anglin. They were portrayed by the episode’s directors, Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson. The real Frank Morris was a lifelong criminal who spent much of his life in correctional facilities. Authorities arrested Morris for armed robbery, car theft, and finally, the crime that put him in Alcatraz, bank robbery. However, he had a genius I.Q., and was likely the real mastermind behind the whole escape. Being so smart, it’s no wonder the TVA wanted him as an employee.
Later in the episode, Loki appears to Frank Morris on a beach along with the other two escaped convicts, who made it to dry land. In reality, no one really knows what happened to the three men. Official reports suggest they drowned in the waters of San Francisco Bay, or hypothermia got them. But they never discovered any bodies. Over the past 60 years, some anecdotal evidence points to at least one of the men surviving. We have since mythologized the only successful escape from Alcatraz in pop culture. It was even the subject of the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood playing Frank Morris.
Frank accepts Loki’s offer to help restore the TVA, even though he doesn’t understand what’s going on. Once he realizes that O.B.’s temp pad can take anyone to anywhen, he even asks if it could take him into a bank vault. Even after doing time in the world’s most infamous prison, Frank still can’t get rid of the urge to rob banks. When one of the TemPads vanishes due to reality coming undone everyone thinks Frank stole it. Hey, when you’re famous for robbery, it’s hard to shake that reputation.
While we saw Frank/Casey unravel at the end of the episode, we have a strong feeling it’s not the last we’ve seen of him. If Loki has taught us anything, it’s that there’s always another branched timeline somewhere.
The post LOKI Reveals How One Character Was Involved in an Infamous Historical Event appeared first on Nerdist.
It is true that our Hobbit heroes bow to no one, but we here at Nerdist must bow to the majesty that has been NZ Post’s collections of coins, stamps, and prints celebrating the various 20th anniversaries of The Lord of the Rings‘ three movies. It has truly been a journey of epic proportions as we went there and back again to The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and now The Return of the King with creations that can be described as nothing short of precious artworks. But like all good journeys, there must be an ending to this quest, however bittersweet.
Before we sail west, though, NZ Post’s final The Lord of the Rings collection, celebrating The Return of the King is here to take our breath away one more time.
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Commemorative Stamps (Don’t Miss the Hidden Messages)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King always makes me feel emotional. Has there ever been a finer ending to a trilogy? And somehow, NZ Post manages to encapsulate everything powerful and wonderful about the movie in six incredible stamp designs. This time around, we are treated to stamps that depict Arwen’s grief and fading time, Gandalf’s realization of the eagles’ arrival at the Battle at the Black Gate, Frodo’s fight against Shelob with the beautiful light of Eärendil gifted to him by Galadriel, Aragorn calling upon the Army of the Dead with Legolas and Gimli at his side, Eowyn defeating the Witch King of Angmar, and, of course, Frodo and Gollum’s last stand in the heart of Mount Doom.
Basically, these The Lord of the Rings stamps show all our favorite characters in their most epic moments from Return of the King. Phew, it gives me chills. And, our favorite part—if you look closely at the designs of the stamps, you can see secret messages embedded in the gorgeous artwork by Sacha Lees. For example, if you really peer at Eowyn’s Shieldmaiden stamp, you can see small letters spelling out, “I am no man.” See if you can spot them all below.
You can order these stamps today.
Return of the King Commemorative Coins
In addition to exquisite stamps, NZ Post has also been creating The Lord of the Rings Commemorative Coins. We know Gollum and dwarves alike would be absolutely entranced by this latest set. There are four Return of the King coins in total, one set of three and one that stands alone. In the set of three, aptly titled “The Lighting of the Beacons,” we see the lighting of the Beacons of Gondor scene come to life in silver and gold. The artistry of these is just beyond incredible. And, in our solo coin is the King of Men himself, Aragorn, being crowned by Gandalf.
These epic coins are not available to purchase yet but are coming soon.
The Lord of the Rings Art Prints
If you’d like to enjoy this glorious artwork on a bit of a larger scale, some of the concepts for The Return of the King‘s stamps are also available in print form.
But you had better not delay at the Prancing Pony because these are limited edition and selling out. Prints of Gandalf and Eowyn are still available and cost $32.44 each.
About the Artist, NZ Post, and More
Artist Sacha Lees
These gorgeous The Lord of the Rings creations come from the glorious mind and fingers of artist Sacha Lees. A release shares, “The artist behind the stamps and pins is New Zealander Sacha Lees, who began her career at Wētā Workshop working on The Lord of the Rings trilogy as an illustrator, creature designer, and airbrush and concept artist.” What a true talent. You can check out Lees’ other work on her website, here. Trust us, you will not feel sorry you did.
New Zealand and The Lord of the Rings
We also wanted to extend a big round of applause to NZ Post. NZ Post has taken the time to honor The Lord of the Rings because of its incredible relationship with New Zealand. The company shares, “The 2003 release saw a world premiere bring Wellington to a standstill, and scored notable breakthroughs for the local film industry. Held in Wellington, the world premiere of The Return of the King saw a parade begin at Parliament and featured two hundred extras in costume, and demonstrated the growing profile of Aotearoa New Zealand’s film industry on the world stage… As Nancy Swarbrick notes in Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, the film’s stunning financial and critical success further increased international interest in Aotearoa New Zealand as a place to make big-budget movies.”
Of course, New Zealand played no small role in making the films look and feel incredible. We love this symbiotic relationship.
NZ Post’s Collectables
Finally, if you’ve loved NZ Post’s The Lord of the Rings collectibles as much as we have, make sure to check out its Collectables page for more excellent surprises. You never know what you might find. We’d also like to say a special thank you to NZ Post Head of Stamps and Collectables, Antony Harris, for keeping Nerdist informed about the latest in NZ Post news.
We’re crossing our fingers to see a 25th anniversary The Lord of the Rings collection or two someday soon.
The post NZ Post Celebrates 20 Years of THE RETURN OF THE KING appeared first on Nerdist.
Before Oscar-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu (Citadel, In Treatment) came on to direct Hulu’s latest comedy outing written by Jen D’Angelo (Workaholics, Hocus Pocus 2), Awkwafina and Sandra Oh were already on board as leading ladies and producers, along with Will Ferrell. Needless to say, joining the project was a no-brainer. Yu told AWFJ that what also attracted her was the story because, “We don’t really see that many comedies about sisters,” let alone Asian-American sisters.
As a kid, Anne Yum (Awkwafina) was obsessed with the Jeopardy-like game show Can’t Stop the Quiz hosted by the lovable, bowtie-wearing Terry McTeer (Will Ferrell). It was her go-to escape when her parents were fighting and her older sister was occupied being an extroverted teenager.
As an adult, watching the show is crucial to Anne’s everyday life, which is otherwise spent clocking in and out of her accounting job in a drab office filled with annoying co-workers and getting yelled at by her constantly crabby neighbor, Francine (Holland Taylor). But a crucial element to the daily viewing is having her precious old pug, Mr. Linguini (Crosby Cookie), lying by her side.
This simple, solitary life gets upended when her swindling mother flees a nursing home, an incident that becomes an unexpected family reunion. In contrast to her sensible, mundane baby sister, Jenny (Sandra Oh) leads a chaotic, messy life, always following a new dream or entrepreneurial pursuit. Her arrival requires her to crash on Anne’s couch since she may or may not (but most likely is) living out of her car. Jenny’s not a total nuisance, but she’s boisterous enough to disrupt Anne’s decidedly calm and tidy environment.
Costume designer Brenda Abbandandolo (CODA) outfits the sisters in conflicting color palettes to further show just how different they are from each other. Jenny’s wardrobe isn’t overly revealing but it’s nowhere near modest (there’s an early aughts velour tracksuit vibe). It’s obvious that she dresses a little younger than her actual age and at times, the amount of color and accessories screams Disney Channel tween. Her vibrant look contrasts nicely against Anne’s strictly beige and gray fits, the embodiment of SNL’s Fashion Coward skit.
The sisters discover their mom isn’t just on an impromptu vacation, she’s skipping out on a large debt acquired through her longtime gambling problem. The guy trying to track down the money, Ken (Jon ‘Dumbfoundead’ Park), dognaps Mr. Linguini as collateral and it’s up to them to somehow pay an $80,000 ransom.
Jenny has the brilliant idea to record Anne’s encyclopedic knowledge in action and turns her into an overnight internet phenomenon, making her a shoo-in to get on the beloved quiz show and win big. It’s also an opportunity for Jenny to force Anne to step into the spotlight, any spotlight, to get out of her introverted game-show-and-chill shell.
On top of overcoming her crippling social anxiety, Anne also needs to take out the smarmy Ron Heacock (Jason Schwartzman), the current champion of Can’t Stop the Quiz who lays the faux humbleness on thick. The overly spray-tanned menace with distractingly white teeth is determined to keep up his winning streak. He’s seemingly one of the “villains” of the film (second to Linguini’s captor) and Schwartzman thrives in these roles.
The always enjoyable Tony Hale plays a Ben Franklin impersonator running a not-so-historically-accurate inn, something Jenny can’t help but point out to him multiple times. Though some may be reminded of his popular Alex Trebek impression on SNL, Ferrell’s Terry McTeer is a much livelier host whose sincere kindness lies somewhere between Buddy the Elf and Mr. Rogers.
Given Awkwafina and Oh’s previous work, audiences expect the wild sister-reserved sister dynamic to be reversed. They’re not exactly playing against those roles because they’ve each proven their talents in multiple genres, though the physical comedy may be outside of Oh’s usual comedic roles. Anne and Jenny’s complicated, somewhat dysfunctional sibling relationship is the emotional core of the film and these powerhouse actresses expertly propel the film forward with their natural chemistry.
There’s one bizarre, funny, and genuinely sad incident from their past that comes up a couple of times. I won’t spoil the details because it’s the most unexpected element of the film and you deserve to experience it for yourself. Other genuinely amusing moments involve Anne’s relatable awkwardness, some of Jenny’s dramatics, and almost all of Ron’s attempts to impress Terry. One thing that’s abundantly clear is how much fun the cast had making the film, adding to the overall endearing quality.
Quiz Lady tells a unique story about two sisters with opposing personalities brought together by gambling debts, a game show, and shared childhood trauma. Not all of the jokes land in this by-the-numbers broad comedy, but the spirited performances of the fantastic ensemble cast make it a winner worthy of a casual watch.
20th Century Studios’ Quiz Lady premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and will begin streaming Nov 3 on Hulu.